1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to the field of computing and, more particularly, to buses used in computing. Specifically, the invention relates to enhancing the bus transfer rates by reducing data-pattern-induced skew caused by intersymbol interference.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modem computer systems may contain several microprocessors, microcontrollers, and other digital devices connected to each other by a bus. The bus transports data among the microprocessors and other components. The bus is composed of a number of traces. Traces are wire-like connections that are printed on the circuit board and function as transmission lines.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional latched driver configuration with a latch 105 and a driver circuit 100 coupled to a transmission line 110. Data that appears at an input terminal 106 to the latch 105 can be placed at an output terminal 107 of the latch 105 after the clock signal has transitioned (i.e., changed states); a positive or negative edge of the clock signal can be used consistently for this purpose. When the data appears at the output terminal 107 of the latch 105 and the driver circuit 100 is enabled, the data is ready to be propagated, allowing a data signal to be transferred to the transmission line 110. If there is a large impedance mismatch between the transmission line 110 and the driver circuit 100, intersymbol interference can occur. The presence of intersymbol interference on a transmission line can cause an increase in the skew and a corresponding decrease in the overall bus transfer rate. Thus, it would be beneficial to have a device that can enhance bus transfer rate by minimizing intersymbol interference.